Author's Note - Thank you to chantisweety for coming up with a new character for the story. If you haven't read her series, I highly recommend it - it's a Carlisle and Esme fic. The first book is called Idyllic Days :)
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"Happy birthday, Mom!" exclaimed Amelia early on Tuesday morning. She grinned widely at her mother and bounced over to give her a hug. It was Esme's birthday, and Amelia was up and about, cheerfully making a big fuss of her mom, despite her exhaustion. She had not had an easy night and had been sick several times.
"Thanks sweetheart," smiled Esme, returning the hug.
"Here's your present," she said, picking up the gift that she had gotten for Esme shortly before they left Rochester, "Alice helped me to wrap it up. You can open it up now or later."
"I think I'll open it up now," laughed Esme, delighted at her daughter's enthusiasm.
"Hey guys, it's present opening time," Alice announced, herding everyone to the living room. The whole family migrated to the living room, which Alice had decorated appropriately. Emmett was grinning evilly. Edward was trying not to laugh, and failing miserably. Renesmee made a beeline for her grandmother, eager to be close to her. Rosalie and Jasper were bringing the presents into the room. Bella walked into the room a moment later with some breakfast for Renesmee and was trying to coax her into eating it. Amelia walked into the living room, carrying her tea cup and trying to lift the fog from her brain. Carlisle swept Esme off her feet, planting a big kiss on her lips. Amelia smiled as she observed the two of them. There was just something about their love that was so special to witness.
Eventually everyone was seated. Esme was seated on one of the couches, between Alice and a very enthusiastic Renesmee. Alice was clearly rubbing off on her. Rosalie and Emmet were on one of the other couches and next to them were Bella, Jasper and Edward. The last couch was occupied by Carlisle. Sitting next to him, and probably legally still asleep, was Amelia. She desperately drank her tea in an attempt at trying to stay awake. He snaked one arm around her frail body and held her gently in place. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. Esme glanced up and caught Carlisle's eye, smiling happily as she saw her husband and youngest daughter breaking through another barrier.
"Mine first!" hollered Alice, thrusting her present into Esme's hands. It was, unsurprisingly, a voucher for a clothing shop that Esme enjoyed frequenting. Rosalie gave her a spa voucher. From Jasper, she received an antique vase – a reminder of one of his and Emmett's wrestling match that had resulted in one of her vases breaking several weeks previously. She laughed out loud at that, amused. From Emmett, she received bedroom slippers.
"It seemed to be a very motherly gift!" he exclaimed in his defence when Esme had looked at him questioningly. The rest of the family looked at him, and burst out laughing.
"Mine next!" begged Renesmee, handing her grandmother her gift. Esme took it from her, thanking Renesmee as she did. She smiled down at her granddaughter and kissed her forehead.
"Why don't you open it for me?" she suggested. Renesmee's eyes brightened and she eagerly took the gift back and ripped open the giftwrap. Edward and Bella had framed one of Renesmee's numerous paintings for Esme – this one featured the two of them holding hands in front of the Cullen mansion. Esme was touched and made a great big fuss of the painting, delighting Renesmee no end.
Esme moved on to her gift from Edward and Bella, which was a cookbook – a long standing family joke of sorts – which catered specifically to Diabetics. Amelia straightened a little when she saw it, suddenly quite enthralled at the prospect of a cookbook dedicated entirely to her Diabetic needs, not that it was of any value to her as a Diabetic. Cystic Fibrosis required a higher calorie diet than average, whereas her Diabetes required a different diet. The result was simple, cater to the high calorie Cystic Fibrosis diet and manage the Diabetes with insulin. She glared at Jasper who grinned back and winked. She glared it him and refocused her attention to Esme.
Esme then picked up Amelia's gift. The young teen felt a tremor of dread run through her, settling in the pit of her stomach. What if Esme didn't like her gift? What if she thought it was stupid? She panicked briefly. Carlisle held her a little closer, sensitive to his daughter's slight distress. Esme proceeded to neatly open it up, as if savouring the moment. Amelia subconsciously held her breath, only realising that she had done so when Carlisle whispered to her to keep breathing.
"Amelia, this is lovely!" Esme exclaimed in delight. She stroked the smooth fabric of the silver-coloured scarf that her youngest daughter had gotten for her. Amelia had been stumped, to put it mildly, as to what to purchase for her mother. She'd never purchased a gift for a motherly figure before, so she relied on little else but gut instinct and had purchased a few small odds and ends.
"Be careful when you unwrap it," warned Alice, "there are a few things wrapped in the scarf."
Esme did as she was told. Nestled in the scarf was a small bottle of perfume, not that Esme required it, and some artist pencils and empty sketchpads.
"Oh sweetheart, this is wonderful!" said Esme earnestly, smiling at Amelia.
"I know you like interior design and architecture so it seemed practical, and I thought that –" Amelia's rambling sentence was cut off by Esme pulling her upright and holding her tight.
"Thank you so much bella Mia," she murmured in Amelia's ear. Her daughter squeezed her back and then let go, sitting back down.
"Don't forget my gift," smiled Carlisle, winking at Esme. He handed her an envelope, and she sat back down, opening it up and skimming briefly through its contents.
"A weekend away?" she queried in astonishment.
"This weekend, to be specific," said Carlisle, "we leave on Friday afternoon and come back on Sunday evening."
"This is so sweet of you, Carlisle. But –"
"No buts, Mom," Amelia interjected, "I don't need Alice to tell me that you guys are going to have an awesome time."
Esme's thoughts were all over. She yearned for a weekend away, for any private time with Carlisle was sought after, but to leave her ailing child alone for an entire weekend? Not that Amelia would be alone with her brothers and sisters, but still, that was pushing it a little bit. Their time already was so limited and she didn't want to miss out on a single moment of her daughter's human life, or what little remained of it. Amelia sensed that her mother needed to talk to the others, so she excused herself to go and get ready for school, and took Renesmee with her.
---
"Carlisle, this is such a lovely gift, but is this really such a practical idea with Amelia being so ill?" asked Esme, distress so clearly written on her face.
"Esme, she will be fine," Alice tried to reassure her.
"Alice, Amelia is dying. I'm can't just leave her alone for an entire weekend."
"We know, which is why you and I are only going to Seattle for the weekend. It's within running distance of home if she falls ill. Alice says that Amelia will be fine," reassured Carlisle. Esme still looked unconvinced. She hated the thought of wasting money but she was hesitant to leave Amelia.
"She won't be alone, she'll be with us. Jacob wants to take her to meet the pack and Renesmee is going to visit Charlie, so she's been invited there as well."
"I have also arranged for Samantha to come and visit. She arrives on Thursday afternoon, so she can spend a night observing Amelia and her new routine, before we leave on Friday."
Esme sighed and nodded. Amelia would be alright without her for a few days, surely?
---
Amelia slowly made her way to the music block for morning orchestra practice. She was a little early, but she enjoyed the peace that she felt when she was there. Emmett had dropped her off at school while the rest of the family remained in debate. Taking her seat in the second row of Violin I, she began to tune her violin. She played the piece that she had composed especially for her mother, not realising initially that Ms Monteverdi had walked into the room and was listening to her play. Daniella walked in just as it was ending, she too stood amazed at her friend's talent.
"Darn, she's good," breathed Ms Monteverdi. Amelia concluded the piece, and launched straight into a piece that her and Edward were going to play for Esme that night – Odd Days by Ludovico Einaudi. Esme enjoyed listening to her children play on their respective instruments. This was sure to brighten her day. Edward was always the musician in the family, followed by Rosalie. Amelia however possessed a talent that could rival Edward even on her sickest days. It was refreshing to watch Edward be dethroned as the best musician of the Cullen household - at least Emmett claimed it was, especially given that Amelia's 15 years of experience bettered her elder brother's century.
After a better orchestra practice than they had had the previous week, the players disbanded and went their separate ways. English class brought a change from the norm.
"Class, we have an exchange student joining us all the way from Germany for a few weeks. Her name is Blythe. I trust that you will all be welcoming to her. Blythe, you may take a seat next to Amelia," announced Mr Mason.
Blythe smiled at Amelia, having already been informed of her situation, and made her way to the open seat on the other side of Amelia. Amy stuck out her hand and introduced herself to the newcomer. Amelia mimicked the action and smiled warmly at her new friend. Her hands were cold to the touch and hard. Amelia took her in when Blythe was looking at the board. She was beautiful, tall and brunette, with the trademark golden eyes that Amelia was so accustomed to. She realised immediately that Blythe was a vampire as well.
'Is it just me or are there a lot of supernatural forces at play here in this sleepy town?' she mused to herself as she took notes of what Mr Mason was writing on the board. The class soon ended and Amelia set off to the music block with Daniella in tow. Blythe, who also had music class, accompanied them. They kept their conversation brief, with the promise of speaking in the cafeteria. Just before they walked into the building, Amelia pulled Blythe aside.
"You're an animal drinker?" she asked Blythe.
"Yes. You are a Cullen? One of Carlisle's children? But you are human," replied Blythe, her German accent less prominent than before. She sounded distinctly British.
"Indeed I am."
"Amelia! Are you alright?" exclaimed Ms Monteverdi, walking outside to look for her star pupil. The pair hurried to class.
---
"Welcome Dr Cullen, Mrs Cullen, kids," greeted the hostess warmly. The family had driven out to Port Angeles to an upmarket restaurant to celebrate Esme's birthday. They were soon seated in a more private area of the restaurant. Having abnormally good looks and one oxygen-dependent teenager garnered a lot of unnecessary attention. Carlisle sat at the head of the table with Esme on one side and Amelia on the other. Next to Esme was Renesmee, eagerly paging through her menu for something to eat. Bella was next to her, chatting to Edward about something. Alice sat on the other side of Edward, and next to her, at the other head of the table was Jasper, who studied his menu with military scrutiny. Rosalie was paging through a menu with Amelia, looking for something for her to drink and Emmett was moving the salt grinders up and down the table.
"Whatever you do kids, don't order the whole menu," joked Carlisle, picking up his menu and scanning it. The kids groaned loudly. Renesmee giggled in her trademark adorable laugh that could melt even the iciest of hearts.
"You're hilarious, Dad," said Emmett, banging his head on the salt grinder in mock horror.
"We'll just have a few jugs of water to drink please," requested Esme when the waiter came to serve them. He returned a few minutes later with two jugs of water and some glasses. He stared at Amelia and smiled at her, before taking the meal order and excusing himself. Amelia blinked in confusion.
"He thought you were cute," said Edward, grinning at Amelia. Carlisle and Emmett immediately protested. Amelia choked on the water that she was drinking.
"Huh?" was all she could manage, when she had recovered.
"He really did," confirmed Jasper. Alice nodded in confirmation.
"Awww," exclaimed Rosalie, enjoying the thought that someone thought her little sister was cute. Renesmee echoed the sentiment.
"Where is he? He's not going out with my baby sister!" exclaimed Emmett.
"Relax Emmett," said Bella, shooting him a glare.
"Well I think it's sweet," broke in Esme, glaring at Emmett and whacking Carlisle on the arm. The table immediately quietened down. When the waiter arrived with their food, you could have heard a pin drop. He blushed and walked away quickly.
"Now you've frightened him off," chided Edward.
"Good," chorused Carlisle and Emmett.
---
"There was a new student in class today," yawned Amelia. She was curled up comfortably in the back seat, full of pizza. She had eaten little, claiming not to be hungry. The family had ordered a fair amount of food, and that had been boxed up and Edward had taken it with him, seeking out homeless people and giving it to them so that they too might eat a meal.
"Really?" said Esme. She loved it when Amelia filled her in on the mundane details of her school life. She had had a tiring day, and had fallen asleep in the car on the way home.
"Well, she's actually an exchange student. She's super sweet. She's also an animal drinker. There sure are a heck of a lot of you guys around."
"Really?" asked Carlisle. He and Esme both tensed up.
"She knows you, Dad. Her name is Blythe."
"Oh yes, I know exactly who you are referring to. She has a gift similar to Alair's," said Carlisle. Both of them relaxed once more.
"She's a healer?" asked Esme.
"Alair's a healer?" exclaimed Amelia.
"Yes she is. Alair's gift is limited though, she can heal minor injuries, like cuts and broken bones. I think that makes it easier for her to work around people, knowing that she can help them but at the same time, she doesn't feel that guilt when she loses a patient, because she knows that her gift is limited. Blythe's appears to be unlimited. It would be best to ask Blythe about it yourself, though. Why not invite her over soon?"
Amelia nodded and fell silent. Another vampire? Well that ought to make life a little more interesting.